Saturday, January 31, 2026

The Hero of Northern Boulevard

 Idling at a traffic light, on the barren expanse of Northern Boulevard. 

Motion suspended, thoughts suspended, a checkered ball suspended –  

No, rising, sailing, arcing joyfully 

High above the pavement, the stoplight, the chain link fence  

That sequestered an adjacent schoolyard teeming with children 

Who swirled in serpentine games. 

 

The soccer ball sunk silently into the maelstrom. 

My eyes retraced path to the narrow median where its flight began. 

Poised, triumphantly was a small round man 

Grey knit cap adorned his head, 

Atop an explosion of granite-hued beard 

That seemed to crumble in the radiance of his grin. 

 

He waved. In that moment,  

He was Yogi Berra on the pitcher’s mound. 

war hero atop a festooned float. 

The light changed to green. 

He disappeared into his car and was swept out of sight 

In the freshly flowing traffic. 

Shelia

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The Hero of Northern Boulevard

  Idling at a traffic light, on the barren expanse of Northern Boulevard .   Motion suspended, thoughts suspended, a checkered ball suspende...